The Nov. 4, 1979, storming of the US Embassy in Tehran by Iranian students who then held 52 American hostages for 444 days marked the beginning of three decades of hostility between Iran and the United States. Iranian Labour News Agency (ILNA) compiled a special report about the individuals involved in the hostage crisis today, 35 years after the incident.

According to ILNA, despite taking oaths not to enter politics or take government positions, many of the leftist students who called themselves the Muslim Student Followers of the Imam’s Line did end up in politics. Some entered parliament as Reformists or joined the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps.

Ebrahim Asgharzadeh, who was at one time the spokesman for the students, became the Revolutionary Guard commander for Ghazvin province. He served in parliament from 1989 to 1993 and was a member of Tehran’s first city council from 1999 to 2003. Today he is primarily a political analyst and is married to Tahereh Rezazadeh, who was also involved in the hostage crisis.

According to ILNA, in 1997, during Reformist President Mohammad Khatami’s proposed “dialogue of civilizations” between countries, a student asked Asgharzadeh if defending the attack on the embassy were compatible with holding a "dialogue of civilizations." According to ILNA, Asgharzadeh has still failed to answer this question. Though ILNA did not report it, Asgharzadeh did offer an apology to the families of the hostages for his actions.